Enhanced mechanical properties of Zr65Cu15Ni10Al10bulk metallic glass by simultaneously introducing surface grooves and multiple shear bands

Xudong Yuan, Zequn Zhang, Qingwei Gao, Li Zhou, Kaikai Song, Xiaoyu Zou, Daniel Şopu, Lina Hu, Baoan Sun, Jürgen Eckert

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer-review

Abstract

Recent investigations have demonstrated that the plasticity of bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) at room temperature can be improved by artificially introducing both macroscopic and microscopic defects. In this work, both surface grooves and multiple shear bands (MLSBs) are concurrently introduced into the surface of a Zr65Cu15Ni10Al10 BMG employing an ultrasonic bonding machine, whose sizes are also tailored by tuning gas pressures and times. After surface treatment, MLSBs appear around grooves due to the pre-plastic deformation, while numerous nano-scale crystals resulting from thermal-induced nanocrystallization appear within the grooves, leading to the emergence of hierarchical structural heterogeneities. As a result, the strength and plasticity are effectively enhanced compared to as-cast samples when suitable experimental parameters are adopted. The plastic deformation mechanisms change from single main shear banding to multiple shear banding. Therefore, the serrated plastic behaviors exhibit a transition from chaotic to self-organized critical dynamics after surface treatment, confirming the modification of the shear banding instability. The present study provides a viable method to tailor the mechanical properties of BMGs and sheds light on their dynamic plastic deformation behaviors.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1490-1506
Number of pages17
JournalJournal of Materials Research and Technology
Volume21.2022
Issue numberNovember-December
DOIs
Publication statusE-pub ahead of print - 4 Oct 2022

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright: © 2022 The Author(s).

Keywords

  • Bulk metallic glasses
  • Mechanical properties
  • Nanocrystallization
  • Shear bands
  • Surface treatment

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